Double murderer Francis James Carter released from Gatton prison

By Jorge Branco

14 January 2015 - 08:14pm

A convicted double murderer once described as "the most dangerous man in Australia" has been released from prison in Queensland's south-east, despite a judge's recommendation he stay behind bars forever.

Paul B Kidd's 1993 book Never to be Released describes how Francis James Carter was sentenced to life in prison for bashing a man to death with a baseball bat in 1989, before cutting his throat and chopping off his fingers with a bolt cutter.

Francis James Carter was believed to have been released from a Gatton jail on Wednesday.

Photo: Fairfax Media

The victim, Phillip Clayton, had apparently committed the 'crime' of speaking to Carter's girlfriend at a barbecue.

Later in the chapter, which Mr Kidd called The Most Dangerous Man in Australia, he quotes Detective Senior Constable David Hintz as saying the murder was "one of the most vicious" he had ever seen.

Fairfax Media understands Carter was released Wednesday from the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre at Gatton on parole.

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The Queensland Government website describes Gatton as "suited to prisoners who have either completed their intervention and rehabilitation programs or who are close to being eligible for parole".

The book Never to be Released describes Carter's prison yard murder of a fellow inmate, with the help of two other men.

"On 26 January 1990 Carter and two other prisoners, Neil Raymond John Aston and Robert McNichol, set upon prisoner Scott Wallace in the belief that he had given them up to authorities," Kidd writes.

"Drunk on home brew and and armed with knives from the kitchen, the murderers mutilated Wallace in his cell by stabbing him about the face, head, neck and body at least twenty times."

It was this crime which prompted the judge to recommend Carter never be released, believing he would kill again "on the most trivial circumstances", Kidd wrote.

According to the book Carter also took part in several escape attempts, one of them successful, but he was recaptured within a week.

Queensland Corrective Services, the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre and the Department of Justice and Attorney-General all refused to confirm or deny Carter's release, citing privacy concerns.

But Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie issued a statement saying he had requested urgent legal advice on legal options relating to the matter.

"We have done more than any other government to ensure violent offenders are kept behind bars," he said.

"Crime has dropped dramatically under this government and increasing the minimum non-parole period to 20 years for murder and 30 years for multiple murders were some of the first law reforms we passed in Parliament.

"We are committed to making this state the safest place to raise a family and we share Queenslanders' frustration when serious offenders are released."

A spokesman for Queensland Corrective Services issued a statement saying the decision to release an eligible prisoner on parole is made entirely by the independent Queensland Parole Board.

"As part of the decision making process, the board imposes strict conditions on parolees," he said.

"Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) has a robust supervision system in place to monitor prisoners released on parole to ensure they are meeting the strict conditions imposed on them."